JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Makes Rare Visit to Ukraine War Headquarters” – New York Times
“The meetings with his top brass seemed to signal a shift from his largely hands-off public posture to one conveying a more active role in war planning.”
“… Putin … made a surprise visit to a command post coordinating the Russian war effort in Ukraine, the Kremlin said …. Putin spent the day on Friday in the military headquarters in an undisclosed location, presiding over a general meeting with Russia’s top brass and holding separate ones with various commanders, the Kremlin said …. As Russia’s military campaign has suffered a series of painful and embarrassing setbacks, [] Putin has distanced himself from the blunders, clearly unwilling to associate himself with defeat. All the while he has maintained a studied calm, insisting against all reason that the war is ‘going according to plan.’ …”